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THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 


From  the   Library  of 


Elizabeth  Morton  Johnston 
Patterson 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://archive.org/details/japanesefairytalwill 


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JAPANES 
FAIRY  TALES 


SECOND  SERIES 


Kokoro  no  onajikaraznru  wa  omote  no  gotoshi. 
The  dissimilarity  of  men's  hearts  is  like  that 
of  their  faces. 

Japanese  Proverb. 


Hito  no  furi  wo  mite,  waga  furi  wo  naose. 
Mend   your   own   manners   by    observing  the 
manners  of  others. 

Japanese  Proverb. 


A  Japanese  mother  teaching  her  child  to  write. 


g*  ^ 


si 


A  PA  ME 


A  FAN 


'Py*~*TZ 


RAWP  Ms(MALLYi€©(M]P>/W 

KHEWYORIK  CH0CAG®  SAM  FRANCISCO 


Copyright,   iqii 

By  Teresa  Peirce  Williston 

Edition  of  1930 


Made  in  U.S.A. 


F-30 


915956      ft*^     ^fc^M'O.JL 


A    FOREWORD 


A  STORY  from  the  Land  of  Far  Away!    What  mystery, 
what  charm  it  holds  for   childhood!     With  quick- 
ened breath,  with  parted  lips  and  shining  eyes,  the 
little  voyager  sets  foot  on  the  wonderful  shore  of  Story 
Land. 

Pulsating  with  interest,  he  greets  the  hero  of  that  land, 
follows  his  adventures,  and  shares  his  struggles ;  learns  the 
universal  language  of  sympathy  by  sharing  in  the  hopes 
and  fears,  the  toil  and  the  laughter  of  that  other  one,  his 
brother  now  through  the  magic  bonds  of  the  story. 

I  have  endeavored  in  this  book,  both  through  the  illus- 
trations and  the  "atmosphere"  of  the  stories  themselves, 
to  bring  the  wee  brothers  from  overseas  as  vividly  as 
possible  before  the  little  folk  of  America.  I  hope  .the 
children  who  read  these  tales  will  see  the  beauty  and  charm 
of  this  life  through  the  glamour  of  romance  and  the  haze  of 
tradition  with  which  generations  of  story-loving  Japanese 
have  enwrapped  it. 

In  collecting  these  stories  I  am  greatly  indebted  to  Mr. 
Katayama  of  Tokyo,  and  in  planning  the  art  work  am  under 
obligations  to  Miss  Bertha  Philpott  of  the  Art  Institute 
of  Chicago  for  many  helpful  suggestions.  Mr.  Sanchi 
Ogawa,  who  illustrated  the  first  series  of  Japanese  Fairy 
Tales,  has  furnished  the  illustrations  for  this  volume  with 
the  exception  of  the  frontispiece  and  the  cover  design, 
which  are  by  Mr.  Kyohei  Inukai. 

The  Author. 


Kagen  hito-tabi  izureba,  shi-me  mo  oubekarazu. 
When  an  indiscreet  word   is  once  out,  even  a 
team  of  four  horses  cannot  overtake  it. 

Japanese  Proverb. 


THE   TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PAGE 


A  Foreword 7 

A  List  of  the  Full-page  Illustrations n 

The  First  Rabbits 13 

Lord  Bag  of  Rice        16 

Peach  Darling 22 

The  Old  Man  with  a  Wart 31 

The  Eighty-one  Brothers 37 

The  Bamboo-Cutter's  Daughter — 

The  Bamboo  Princess 46 

The  Great  Stone  Bowl 50 

The  Branch  of  the  Jewel  Tree            52 

The  Fire  Robe        58 

The  Shell  in  the  Swallows'  Nest 64 

The  Dragon  Jewel 69 

The  Smoke  of  Fuji  Yama  .           75 

A  Guide  to  Pronunciation       ...          82 

A  Reading  List 84 

Suggestions  to  Teachers 87 


Ryoyaku  kuchi ninigaku;  chugen  mimi  ni  sakau. 
Good  medicine  is  bitter  to  the  mouth ;  faithful 
advice  offends  the  ears. 

Japanese  Proverb. 


A  LIST  OF  THE  FULL-PAGE 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  Japanese  mother  teaching  the  children  to  write      Frontispiece 

PAGB 

"Our  snowballs  all  fell  through  the  sky  floor" 12 

The  dog,  the  pheasant,  the  monkey,  and  Peach  Darling  con- 
quer Akandoji 28 

"The  old  man  began  to  dance" 34 

"My  friend,  I  thank  you  for  what  you  did  for  my  pet  hare"  44 
The  prince  tells  the  story  of  his  search  for  the  branch  of  the 

jewel  tree 54 

"The  white  company  passed  slowly  to  the  top  of  Fuji  Yama"  79 


II 


'■Our  snowballs  all  fell  through  the  sky  floor" 


THE  FIRST  RABBITS 

HE  children  in  the  sky  were  all  crying. 

"Boo-hoo,"   said  one.      "Boo-hoo," 

said  another.     ' '  Boo-hoo, "  said  the  rest. 

"Children,  children,  what  is  the  matter?" 
asked  the  fairy  mother  of  the  sky. 

"We've  nothing  to  play,"  replied  one. 
"There's  nothing  to  do,"  said  another.  "We 
can't  play  for  there's  nothing  to  do,"  said  the 
rest. 

"Why  don't  you  twinkle  the  stars?"  asked 
the  fairy  mother  of  the  sky. 

"The  star  lights  are  all  put  out,"  sobbed 
one.  "The  sun  is  shining  and  the  star  lights 
are  out,"  sobbed  another.  "We  can't  twinkle 
the  stars  when  the  sun  is  shining  and  the 
star  lights  are  out,"  sobbed  the  rest. 

"Why  don't  you  beat  the  thunder  drums?" 
asked  the  fairy  mother  of  the  sky. 


13 


"The  thunder  drums  are  all  broken," 
sighed  one.  "We've  beaten  all^the  thunder 
out  of  them,"  sighed  another.  "We  can't 
beat  the  thunder  drums  for  the  thunder  is  all 
beaten  out  of  them,"  sighed  the  rest. 

"Why  don't  you  shake  the  snow  out  of  the 
snow  sieves?"  asked  the  fairy  mother  of  the 
sky. 

"It  won't  shake  through  the  sieve,"  said 
one.  "We've  made  the  snow  into  balls,"  said 
another.  "  We  can't  shake  the  snow  through 
the  sieve  when  its  all  made  into  balls,"  said 
the  rest. 

"  Why  don't  you  roll  the  snowballs?"  asked 
the  fairy  mother  of  the  sky. 

"Oh,  we  will!"  cried  one.  "Yes,  we  will," 
cried  another.  "Of  course  we  will,"  said  the 
rest. 

Away  they  ran  to  the  snowball  field. 

"  Let's  throw  them,"  said  one.  "  Let's  toss 
them,"  said  another.  "Let's  catch  them," 
said  the  rest. 

Up  and  down,  this  way  and  that  way,  back 
and  forth,  how  the  white  balls  danced  and 
flew  ! 

"Oh,  look!  They're  falling  through  the 
sky   floor,"   cried  one.     "They're  all   falling 


14 

: 


through  the  twinkle  holes  of  the  stars,"  said 
another.  "They're  falling  through  the  holes 
down  on  to  the  earth,"  said  the  rest. 

Away  the  snowballs  jumped  and  bobbed. 
The  star  children  all  began  to  cry  again. 

Just  then  the  fairy  mother  of  the  sky  came 
with  a  torch  to  light  the  star  lamps.  ' '  Crying 
again?"  she  said.    "What's  the  matter  now?" 

"Our  snowballs  all  fell  through  the  sky 
floor,"  said  one.  "They  all  fell  through  the 
twinkle  holes  of  the  stars,"  said  another. 
"They've  fallen  through  the  holes  down  on 
to  the  earth,"  said  the  rest. 

"You  naughty,  naughty  snowballs,"  said 
the  fairy  mother  of  the  sky.  So  she  threw  her 
torch  after  them,  but  it  only  scorched  their 
tails  and  turned  them  black. 

Down  on  the  earth  they  are 
hopping    still,    _^    these  soft     5 
white   balls 
with    their 
little  black 
tails,    and 
you  chil- 
dren call 
them  the 
labbits.  ^^-      — 


Fffifi  Ptfhttc  ClbwY, 


#.  } 


&& 


LORD  BAG  OF  RICE 

SOLDIER  in   Japan 

was   once    about   to 

cross  a  bridge  near  a 

lake   when    he    saw    a   huge 

snake  coiled  on  the  bridge  so 

that  no  one  could  pass.     Now, 

do  you  think  that  this  soldier 

turned  and  ran  away,  as  many 

others  had  that  day?    No,  indeed! 

He  knew  that  a  bridge  was  not 

the  place   for   a  snake,  so  he 

walked  up  and  stamped  on  its 

head. 

As  he  stepped    on  him,  the 

snake  was  gone.     Only  a  dwarf 

stood  before  him,  who  at  once 

began  bowing  his  head  to  the 

ground  with  respect. 

"Now,  at  last  I  have  found 
some  one  who  is  not  a  cow- 
ard ! "    cried    the    dwarf. 
"Here  I  have  been  waiting 


2C 


1 6 


for  days  to  find  a  man  who  was  brave  enough 
to  help  me,  but  none  dared  cross  the  bridge. 
Everyone  turned  and  ran  at  the  sight  of  me. 
But  you  arr  strong-hearted.  Will  you  do  me 
a  great  kindness  and  save  many  lives?" 

The  soldier  answered: 

' '  I  am  a  soldier  of  the  Emperor,  and  I  am 
here  to  save  life  and  right  wrong.     Tell  me 
your  trouble  and  I  will  see  what 
can  be  done  to  help  it." 

"There  is   a  terrible 
tipede,"    said    the     dw 
"and  he  lives  in  th 
woods,  on  the  mountain. 
Every    day    he 
comes  down  to 
the    shore    to  . 
drink.  He  dips 
his  thousand 


m 


19 


poisonous  feet  into  the  beautiful  water,  turn- 
ing it  all  foul  and  dirty.  It  kills  all  the 
fishes  in  the  lake,  too.  I  am  the  king  of  the 
lake,  and  I  am  trying  to  find  some  way  to 
save  my  fishes." 

"  I  do  not  know  that  I  can  help  you,"  said 
the  soldier,  "but  I  will  gladly  go  with  you 
and  try." 

The  dwarf  took  him  to  his  home  in  the 
bottom  of  the  lake.  It  was  a  beautiful  house, 
all  made  of  coral  and  pearl.  His  servants,  the 
crabs  and  sunfishes,  brought  them  rice,  fruit, 
and  tea,  served  on  tiny  green  leaves.  The 
tea  looked  like  water  and  the  rice  looked  like 
seafoam,  but  they  tasted  all  right,  so  what 
matter? 

Just  as  they  were  in  the  middle  of  their 
feast  they  heard  a  mighty  roaring  and  rumb- 
ling. It  sounded  as  though  a  mountain  were 
being  torn  up. 

"There  he  is!"  he  cried.  "That  is  the 
noise  of  his  thousand  feet  as  they  crunch  on 
the  stones  of  the  mountain  side.  We  must 
hurry  or  he  will  get  to  the  water  and  poison 
it  again." 

They  hurried  to  the  edge  of  the  lake  and 
saw  the  centipede  already  very  near.     He 


looked    like   an   army 
marching  with  colored 
lanterns,  for  each 
one  of  his  thousand 
legs   glowed   with 
many    beautiful 
shades  of  crimson 
and  green  and 
gold. 

The    soldier 
drew  his  great 
bow  and  let 
an    arrow 
fly   at    the 
monster's 

head.  He  never  missed  his  aim,  and  the 
arrow  struck  the  ugly  head  of  the  centipede, 
but  bounced  away.  A  second  arrow  flew,  but 
that,  too,  bounced  away. 

He  had  but  one  arrow  left  and  the  monster 
was  almost  at  the  water's  edge. 

Suddenly  he  remembered  that  when  he  was 
a  boy  his  grandfather  had  told  him  that  if  you 
wet  the  head  of  an  arrow  in  your  mouth  it 
will  kill  any  monster. 

It  took  just  a  second  to  wet  the  head  of  his 
last  precious  arrow  and  send  it  whizzing  at 


iq 


^-^ 


the  centipede.    It  struck  him  on  the  forehead 
and  he  fell  over  dead. 

Suddenly  the  soldier  found  himself  back  in 
his  own  house,  which  was  now  changed  into 
a  castle.  Before  him  were  five  gifts,  on  each 
of  which  he  read,  ' '  With  the  loving  thanks 
of  the  Dwarf." 

The  first  of  these  gifts  was  a  huge  bronze 
bell,  on  the  outside  of  which  was  told  in  pic- 
tures the  story  of  the  centipede.    The  second 
was  a  sword  which  would   always  give  its 
owner  the  victory.     The   third 
was  a  suit  of  armor  so  strong 
that  no   swords  or  arrows 
could  go  through  it. 

The  last  two  were  the 
most  wonderful  of  all. 
One  was  a  roll  of  silk  of 
any  color  he  wished,  and 


20 


w^*? 


the  more  he  used  of  the  silk  the  more  the  roll 
grew.  The  other  was  a  bag  of  rice  which 
never  grew  less,  although  he  used  all  he 
wished  for  his  friends  and  himself. 

This  last  gift  seemed  so  wonderful  to  the 
people  that  they  called  him  Lord  Bag  of  Rice 
from  that  day. 


»r&  // 


i£ 


PEACH  DARLING 

AHERE    once   lived 

an   old   man   and 

an    old    woman 

who  had  no  child  of  their 

own.     They    felt  very    sad 

about  this,   for   they   said  : 

Who  will   care  for  us 

when  we  are  too  old  to 

care  for  ourselves?" 

Since  they  had  no 

children  of  their  own 

to  love,  the)^  loved  all 

other  children  and 

tried    to    make    them 

happ3^.    Even  the  cats 

and   dogs,   the  birds 

and    squirrels,    knew 

they  had   friends  in 

the  'old   man   and 


woman. 


. 


No  cherry  trees  ever  bore  such  beautiful 
blossoms  as  the  ones  by  their  cottage  door, 
and  all  the  bees  of  the  village  came  to  hum 
with  delight  at  the  long  and  graceful  catkins 
on  their  willow  tree. 

One  day  the  old  man  said:  "To-day  I  must 
go  to  the  mountains  to  cut  grass.  Oh,  if  I 
only  had  a  stout  young  boy  who  could  take 
this  long  journey  for  me  !  But  then  I  must 
not  complain,  for  we  have  each  other."  So 
off  he  went,  happy  and  contented,  in  spite  of 
it  all. 

Then  the  old  woman  said  to  herself:  "If 
my  good  husband  must  take  such  a  long, 
hard  journey  to-day,  I,  too,  will  be  at  work. 
I  will  take  all  these  clothes  down  to  the  river 
and  wash  them." 

Soon  she  was  on  the  river  bank,  washing 
merrily,  while  the  birds  sang  above  her. 
"How  jolly  our  little  friends  are  to-day!" 
thought  the  old  woman.  "They  twitter  and 
sing  as  though  they  were  trying  to  tell  me  a 
secret." 

Just  then  something  came  splashing  and 
tumbling  down  the  river  and  caught  among 
her  clean  clothes.  The  old  woman  took  a 
stick  and  pulled  it  out.    It  was  a  huge  peach. 


23 


\    V:'  '  \  . 


"I  will  take  this  home  for  my  husband's 
supper;  he  will  be  so  tired,  and  this  will  taste 
very  good,"  she  said.  Oh!  how  the  birds 
sang  then ! 

That  evening  when  the  old  man  came  home 
from  the  mountains  his  wife  said:  "  Just  see, 
here  is  a  peach  for  your  supper,  which  came 
floating  down  the  river  to  me.  I  fancy  the 
birds  must  have  sent  it,  for  they  laughed  and 
sang  so  when  it  came." 

The  old  man  said:  "Bring  me  a  knife,  that 
I  may  cut  it  in  two,  for  you  shall  have  half 
of  it." 


When  they  opened  the  peach,  there  within 
it  lay  a  tiny  baby  boy,  as  round  and  fat  and 
smiling  as  could  be.  Because  of  his  first 
cradle  they  called  him  "Peach  Darling,"  and 
loved  him  as  a  child  sent  from  the  gods. 


Var^ 


24 


As  he  grew  tall  and  strong,  they  found  that 
he  was  indeed  wonderful.  No  one  equaled 
him  in  strength,  and  none  in  wisdom.  Ever}^ 
child  in  the  village  loved  him,  and  all  the 
birds  and  animals  were  his  friends. 

He  took  good  care  that  his  old  father  and 
mother  should  not  have  to  work  hard  as  they 
once  did.  "For,"  he  said,  "what  better  thing 
can  I  do  than  take  care  of  you?" 

When  he  became  a  young  man  he  heard 
of  the  terrible  monster,  Akandoji.  Years  be- 
fore, this  monster  had  stolen  a  great  deal  of 
gold  and  silver  from  the  villagers.  It  was 
said  that  he  was  so  terrible  that  no  one  dared 
go  against  him,  to  try  to  recover  the  riches. 

Peach  Darling  said:  "I  will  go  and  fight 
this  monster.  Who  will  go  with  me?"  But 
no  one  dared  go,  so  he  decided  to  go  alone. 

His  father  and  mother  were  proud  of  their 
brave  son,  but  their  hearts  ached  to  think 
of  his  going  alone.  His  mother  said  to  his 
father:  "If  you  will  grind  me  some  fine  mil- 
let seed,  I  will  make  our  son  some  dumplings, 
for  they  may  give  him  more  strength  to  fight 
Akandoji."  So  the  old  man  ground  the  mil- 
let seed,  and  the  old  woman  made  the  dump- 
lings. 


4 


25 


Peach  Darling  put  them  into  his  pouch  and 
started  off  on  his  journey.  As  he  was  going 
along  a  dog  came  up  and  sniffed  hungrily 
at  the  dumplings.  Peach  Darling  thought, 
"This  poor  dog  is  hungry,  and  I  can  do  with 
one  less  dumpling.  I  am  strong  and  shall 
not  mind  hunger."  So  he  gave  a  dumpling 
to  the  dog 

As  soon  as  the  dog  had  eaten  it  he 
spoke  and  said:    "Since  you 
of  your  food,  I  will  go  with 
I  cannot  leave  you  alone." 
So  on  they  went  together. 

Very  soon  they  saw  a 
monkey  lying  by  the  road, 
gasping  as  if  in  pain.    Peach 
Darling  stopped  to  see  what 
was  the  matter  and  heard  him 
saying:     "Oh,  if  I  only 
had  a  bite  of  something,  I 
should   not  die."     So 
Peach   Darling 
took   another 
dumpling  from 
his    pouch   and 
gave  it  to  the 
monkey. 


26 


After  eating  it  the  monkey  was  so  much 
better  that  he  said:  "Since  )tou  have  saved 
my  life  I  will  go  with  3Tou,  for  I  mayT  be  able 
to  help  you  sometime."  So  the  three  walked 
off  together. 

As  they  were  going,  a  pheasant  hovered 
near  them.  Fearing  that  something  might 
be  wrong  with  her  or  her  j-oung  ones,  Peach 
Darling  stopped  and  asked  her  what  troubled 
her.  In  bird  language  she  said:  "Oh,  sir, 
my^  young  ones  are  starving.  I  do  not  know 
what  to  do  !" 

"Do?"  said  Peach  Darling.  "Take  them 
this  dumpling,  and  if  ever  again  you  are 
hungry,  come  to  me.  I  will  not  let  you 
starve." 

By  this  time  they  were  down  to  the  sea- 
shore, so  they  climbed  into  a 
boat   and   started   off  for 
the   island   of  Akandoji. 
Just   as   they   were 
starting  there  was       /SFM/T 
a  nutter  or  wings   ^^\M^\  x 


and  the  pheas- 
ant   alighted 
in    the    boat 
with  them. 


27 


The  dog;  the  pheasant,  the  monkey,  and  Peach  Darling-  conquer  Akandoji 


^*~^->  . 


--•t. — ... . 


"Dear  Peach  Darling,"  she  said,  "if  you 
are  going  to  face  dangers,  I  will  go,  too,  for 
perhaps  I  may  be  able  to  help  you." 

After  a  long  row  they  reached  the  monster's 
island,  and  climbed  the  steep  hill  to  the  gate 
of  the  castle.  Here  they  found  the  monkey 
of  great  use,  since  he  always  has  four  hands 
and  four  feet  as  well  as  a  long,  strong  rope 
fastened  to  his  body. 

When  they  reached  the  great  gate  of  the 
castle,  they  all  four  began  to  make  the  great- 
est noise  possible.  The  man  shouted,  the 
dog  barked,  the  pheasant  screamed,  and  the 
monkey  chattered,  while  they  all  beat  on  the 
door  with  stones. 

The  people  within  thought  that  a  great 
army  was  upon  them,  so  they  threw  open 
their  gates  and  fled. 

Peach  Darling  searched  until  he  found 
Akandoji  himself,  who  was  just  about  to 
throw  a  great  stone  at  him.  He  dodged  the 
stone  and  picked  the  monster  up  in  his  arms, 
while  the  monkey  tied  him  fast  with  ropes. 
When  he  found  himself  beaten,  Akandoji 
agreed  to  return  all  his  stolen  riches.     So  his 


»%> 


' 


2Q 


men  carried  down   great  bags   of   gold  and 
loaded  the  boat  of  Peach  Darling. 

Then  up  went  the  sail,  and  as  the  wind 
swept  them  over  the  sea,  the  island  of  Akan- 
doji  grew  small  and  disappeared. 

All  the  village  was  glad  when  they  re- 
turned, but  none  were  so  glad  as  the  old 
man  and  woman.  The  people  were  now  very 
proud  of  Peach  Darling,  and  called  him  a 
great  man,  but  he  said:  "Give  all  the  honor 
to  my  three  companions,  for  they  did  it  all." 
Peach  Darling  lived  many  years,  and  was 
always  kind  and  wise.  Many  people  of  the 
village  came  to  him  for  help. 

Once    the    people 
brought  him  a  won- 
derful peach  fash- 
ioned out  of  gold. 
They  said:  "We  all 
love  you  for  bring- 
ing back  our  riches 
to  us,  but  we 
love  you  far, 
far  more  for 
your  wisdom 
and  kindness 
to  us." 


30 


THE  OLD  MAN  WITH  A    WART 


T 


VHERE  was  once  an  old  man 
who  had  a  wart  on  the  side  of 
his  face.  It  was  such  a  huge 
wart  that  it  looked  like  a  peach  grow- 
ing there.  It  hurt  every  time  he  ate 
his  rice  or  drank  his  tea,  but  he  never 
complained. 

One  day  he  was  up  in  the 
mountains,  cutting  wood, 
when  a  dreadful  storm 
arose.     The   pine  trees, 
that   usually   murmured 
a  soft   and   whispering 
song,    now   shrieked 
and   groaned   as  the 
^f fa.      wind   tore   through 
them. 
He  found  a 
hollow  tree 
and  climbed 
in.     Here  he 
was  dry  and  warm  while 
the  rain  poured  down  as 
though  the  very  sky  were  falling. 

He  had  never  been  in  such  a  storm  before, 


31 


and  as  he  listened  to  the  wind,  and  breathed 
the  fresh  damp  odor  of  the  rain,  he  was  glad 
he  was  there.  The  great  pines,  hundreds  Qf 
years  old,  'were  bent  and  twisted  about  like 
grass. 


safe. 


M 


The  old  man  had  thought  he  was  the  only- 
one  in  the  woods,  but  he  soon  heard  voices 
of  people  coming  nearer  and  nearer.  "They 
must  enjoy  the  storm,"  he  thought,  for  they 
were  singing  and  shouting  most  happily. 

They  did  not  sound  quite  like  men,  but 
more  like  the  rushing  of  the  wind  and  the 
hurried  swaying  of  the  trees. 


3a 


They  kindled  a  fire  which  leaped  up  in  little 
sharp  tongues  of  flame,  for  all  the  world  like 
lightning.  Each  flash  lighted  up  the  forest, 
and  then  he  saw  that  his  jolly  companions 
were  the  Storm  Spirits.  They  sat  in  a  circle 
around  the  fire  and  began  their  song.  If  you 
could  but  hear  it ! 

It  sounded  like  the  wind  whipping  the 
tree-tops  back  and  forth,  or  the  breezes  bow- 
ing the  long  grasses  in  lines  before  it.     It 


was  like  great  waves, 
trampling  and  tumb- 
ling upon  the  shore 
or   the  pounding 
tiny  raindrops,  h 
mering  upon  the 
leaves. 


W  A 

w 


l>> 


'•The  old  man  began  to  dance" 


It  seemed  as  though  all  the  trees  were 
swaying  and  bending  in  time  with  the  wind 
because  they  loved  it. 

The  old  man  could  not  sit  still.  He  sprang 
into  the  midst  of  the  group  and  began  to 
dance.  The  air  was  sweet.  The  grass  gave 
a  faint  fresh  odor.  He  seemed  to  be  dancing 
like  the  trees  and  flowers.  Like  a  willow  by 
the  river  he  bent  and  swayed  and  bowed. 
The  song  grew  softer  and  sweeter  until  the 
trees  were  still  and  the  sun  peeped  through 
the  clouds.  At  last  the  old  man  sat  down  to 
rest. 

Then  the  Storm  Spirits  said  :  ' '  Oh,  good 
man,  come  to  us  again  and  dance  for  us.  As 
a  pledge  that  you  will  come  we  will  take  this 
peach  that  grows  on  the  side  of  your  face. 
Is  it  not  the  most  precious  thing  you  possess?" 
So  they  took  his  wart  and  let  him  go. 

When  he  reached  home  his  wife  cried,  "Oh, 
husband,  what  have  you  done  with  your 
wart?"  Then  he  told  her  all  about  it,  and 
they  were  very  glad. 

These  old  people  had  a  neighbor  who  had 
a  wart  on  the  left  side  of  his  face.  This  wart 
was  red  and  shiny  like  an  apple.  He  heard 
how  the  Storm  Spirits  had  taken  the  other 


35 


man's  wart,  so  he,  too,  went  to  the  mountain 
and  crept  into  the  hollow  tree.  There  he 
waited  until  the  storm  came. 

How  it  raged  !  The  rain  lashed  the  leaves 
like  whips,  and  the  lightning  tore  yellow 
gashes  in  the  black  clouds.  This  old  man 
shivered  and  shook  with  fear. 

At  last  the  Storm  Spirits  saw  him  and 
dragged  him  forth  to  dance  for  them,  but  he 
was  so  frightened  that  he  could  only  shake 
and  tremble. 

Then  they  were  angry  and  said :  "Well,  if 
you  can't  dance  better  than  this  we  don't 
want  you  any  more."  So  they  put  the  other 
wart  on  the  right  side  of  his  face  and  started 
him  off. 

Poor  man  !  He  was  sorry  he  came,  for  now 
he  had  a  wart  on  each  side  of  his  face  and 
was  wet  to  the  skin  as  well. 


36 


THE  EIGHTY-ONE  BROTHERS 

EAR  Tajima,  on  the  north  coast  of 
Japan,  lived  a  mighty  SJis^e  who 
had  eighty-one  sons.  Ejjjntrof  them 
were  bold,  proud  men,  and  hated  the  young- 
est brother,  the  eighty-first.    ^  £$ 

This  youngest  brother  was  £ind  and  good 
to  everyone.  His  elder  brofffers  said  :  "That 
is  not  the  way  for  a  prince^  act.  You  treat 
people  as  though  3^011  were  the  commonest 
wood-cutter,  and  not  a  cousin  of  the  Emperor 
himself." 

But  in  spite  of  all  they  said  the  youngest 
prince  was  just  as  kind  to  the  people  as  ever, 
so  his  brothers  hated  him  the  more. 

Now  there  was  a  beautiful  princess  in  Inaba 
whom  everyone  wished  to  see.  The  eighty 
brothers  said  :     ' '  Let  us  go  and  see  this  won 


37 


derful  princess."     So  they  started  off,  two  by 
two.    What  a  procession  they  made! 

They  took  their  youngest  brother,  the 
eighty-first,  along  to  carry  their  bundles  and 
wait  on  them,  but  he  had  to  walk  behind. 

Over  the  hills  and  through  the  valleys  they 
went  until  they  came  to  Cape  Keta. 

Here  they  found  a  poor  little  hare  without 
a  scrap  of, fur  on  his  body.     Every  bit  had 
been  pulled  pff,  and  he  lay  there 
with   nothing   to   protect   him 
from  the  hot  sun. 

"Oh,   good    friends,"   cried  ^0 ? 
the  poor  hare  to   the   eighty  "^L 
brothers,  ' '  I  am  nearly  dying. 
Can  you  tell  me  what  to  do 
to  make  my  fur  grow  again  ?" 

The  proud,  cruel  brothers  only  laughed  at 
the  poor  hare,  and  answered :  ' '  You  wish 
your  hair  to  grow?  Well,  you  just  go  down 
and  bathe  in  the  salt  water  of  the  ocean,  and 
then  go  and  lie  on  a  high  rock  where  the  sun 
can  shine  on  you,  and  the  wind  can  blow  on 
you."     Then  they  went  on,  laughing. 

The  hare  did  as  they  told  him  do.  Oh,  how 
the  salt  water  stung  his  poor  skin  !  Oh,  how 
the  sun  and  wind  burned  and  cracked  it ! 


38 


-to 


He  lay  there  groaning  and  crying  with 
pain.  Suddenly  he  heard  some  one  calling : 
"What  is  the  matter?     Do  you  want  help?" 

"Oh,  I  am  dying!"  answered  the  hare. 
Then  he  heard  some  one  climbing  up  the 
rocks,  and  in  a  moment  more  the  eighty-first 
brother  stood  by  him. 

The  poor  }Toung  prince  had  so  many  bun- 
dles that  he  could  hardly  walk.  "What  is 
the  matter  with  you  ?  Why  are  you  groaning 
so?"  he  asked  the  hare. 

"It  is  a  long  story,"  said  the  hare,  "and 
when  I  am  through  perhaps  }^ou  will  think 
I  deserve  what  I  now  suffer,  but  I  will  tell 
you  all. 

"I  was  on  the  island  of 
wished  to  get  over  to  this  ^ 
country,  but  I  had  no  boat. 
At  last  I  thought  of  a  plan. 
I   went   down   to   the 
seashore  and  waited 
until  I  saw  a  croco- 
dile raise 
its    head 
above   the 
water. 

"Then  I 


Oki,   and   I 


39 


called,  '  Croco - croco -  crocodile,  come  here,  1 
wish  to  talk  with  you.'  He  came  up  close, 
and  I  said,  '  How  many  crocodiles  are  there 
in  the  sea?' 

' '  '  There  are  ■  more  crocodiles  in  the  sea 
than  there  are  buttons  on  my  back, '  said  the 
crocodile.    •  ' 

"'B$$/ there  are  not  so  many  of  you  as 
there  are  of  us,'  I  said.  'There  are  more 
hares  on  the  land  than  there  are  hairs  on  my 
back.' 

"  '  Let's  count,'  said  the  crocodile. 

"  'All  right,'  I  answered.  'You  crocodiles 
lie  here  in  a  row  from  this  land  to  Cape  Keta 
and  I  will  run  across  on  your  heads  and 
count  you  as  I  go.  Then  we  will  count  the 
hares  and  see  which  are  the  most.' 

"So  the  crocodiles  all  came  and  lay  in  a 
row,  and  the  farthest  one  just  touched  Cape 
Keta. 

' '  I  sprang  on  their  backs  and  ran  as  fast 
as  I  could  to  Cape  Keta,  counting  as  I  ran. 

"  How  foolish  I  was  !  Just  as  I  reached  the 
last  crocodile  I  said,  '  You  silly  things  !  Do 
you  think  I  care  how  many  there  are  of  you  ? 
You  have  made  me  a  good  bridge  ;  that  is 
all  I  wished.     Thank  you  for  it.     Good-by.' 


40 


"The  last  crocodile  Qaught  me  when  Isaid 
that,  and  pulled  every'rair  off  my  body. 

"'We  should  like  to/£know  how  many 
hares  there  are,'  he  said,^^o  we  will  just 
count  these  hairs  and  see.'  At^fliat  the  whole 
row  of  crocodiles  opened  their  'g^eat  mouths 
and  laughed. "  *  4gL v 

"Well,  it  served  you  right  for  rapg  so 
tricky,  but  go  on  with  your  story,"  sefc^the 
eighty-first  prince.  *< 

"Yes,  I  know  it  served  me  right  for  what 
I  had  done,  and  I  shall  never  do  that 
again,"  said  the  poor  hare.    "But 
after  all   my  fur  was 
gone,  I  was 


41 


lying  here 
-  crying  when 
eighty  princes  came  along. 

"  They  laughed  at  me  for  my  baldness,  and 
told  me  to  bathe  in  the  salt  water  of  the 
ocean  and  then  lie  in  the  sun  and  wind.  I 
did  so,  and  see  how  I  suffer ! " 

The  eighty-first  prince  felt  very  sorry  for 
the  poor  hare,  so  he  carried  him  to  a  spring 
of  clear  water. 

"Bathe  in  this,"  he  said,  "and  that  will 
wash  off  all  the  salt.  I  will  bruise  some 
leaves,  and  the  juice  from  them  will  make 
your  fur  grow  again." 

When  this  was  done  the  hare  felt  as  well  as 
ever,  and  his  fur  began  growing  again. 

Then  the  prince  picked  up  his  bundles  and 
started  on  to  catch  up  with  his  brothers. 


42 


When  at  last  the  poor  tired  003^  reached 
Inaba  he  found  his  brothers  already  there, 
and  very  cross  indeed. 

The  beautiful  princess  did  not  care  to  see 
them  and  they  scolded  the  eighty-first  prince 
as  though  it  had  been  his  fault. 

They  were  just  about  to  return  home  Avhen 
a  messenger  came  from  the  princess. 

"Ah!"  cried  the  first  prince,  "she  wishes 
to  see  me  ;  she  is  sending  for  me,  I  know." 

"Oh,  no  !"  shouted  the  second  prince.  "It 
is  I  whom  she  wants.  I  know  she  is  sending 
for  me." 

The  third  prince  fairly  screamed:  "You 
silly  things !  Don't  you  know  I  am  the  one 
she  wants?  I  am  far  handsomer  than  any 
one  of  you.     Of  course  she  wants  me." 

The  messenger  waited  until  they  were  still 
at  last,  and  then  said:  "Her  Majesty,  the 
Princess  of  Inaba,  wishes  the  burden-bearer 
for  the  eighty  princes  to  come." 

The  eighty-first  prince  laid  down  his  bur- 
dens and  followed  the  messenger. 

He  led  him  to  the  palace  and  into  a  room 
where  sat  the  most  beautiful  woman  he  had 
ever  seen.  Beside  her  stood  a  hare  whose 
fur  was  j  ust  beginning  to  grow. 


43 


gj 


1  My  friend,  I  thank  you  for  what  you  did  for  my  pet  hare'1'' 


The  princess  said  to  him  :  "My  friend,  I 
sent  for  you  to  thank  3^ou  for  what  you  did 
for  my  pet  hare.  He  has  just  come  to  tell 
me  about  it.  How  does  it  happen  that  one 
so  kind  as  you  is  onty  a  servant?" 

Then  the  eigl^-nrst  prince  told  her:  "I 
am  not  a  servant,  O  most  beautiful  Princess ! 
My  eighty  brothers  were  coming  to  see  you 
and  made  me  walk  behind  and  carry  the 
burdens,  but  I'm  just  as  much  a  prince  as 
they." 

' '  How  can  I  repay  you  for  all  you  did  for 
my  poor  hare?  Ask  anything  you  wish  and  I 
will  give  it  to  3^ou." 

"The  one  thing  I  wish  most  of  all  is  to 
live  here  with  you,"  said  the  prince. 

So  they  were  the  prince  and  princess  of 
that  land,  and  the  hare  was  their  companion. 

As  for  the  eighty  brothers,  they  found  they 
might  as  well  go  home  first  as  last,  and  this 
time  they  had  to  carry  their  own  burdens. 


■■**.** 


45 


«{•  fe  41 

THE  BAMBOO-CUTTER'S 
DA  UGHTER 


THE  BAMBOO  PRINCESS 


A 


N   old   bamboo- 
cutter  was  going 
home    through 
the  shades   of  evening. 
Far   away   among    th 
stalks  of  the  feather}7  bam 
boo  he  saw  a  soft   light. 
He  went  nearer  to  s 
what  it  was,  and  found 
came  from  within  one  o 
stalks. 

He  opened   the   bamboo 
stalk  carefully,  and  found  a 
tiny  baby  girl.     She  was  only 
a  few  inches  tall,  but  as  beau- 
tiful as  a  fair}7.     Indeed 
he  wondered  if  she  wete 
not  really  a  fairy.    ♦ 


46 


He  carried  her  home 
d  told  his  wife 
how  he  had 
f  o u  n d  he r. 
They  were 
very  glad,  for 
..they  had  no 
child,  so  they 
loved  her  as 
their  own.  In  a  few  years  she  had  grown  to 
be  a  young  woman.  She  was  as  sweet  and 
kind  as  she  was  beautiful.  A  soft  light 
always  seemed  to  follow  her. 

When  the  time  came  to  name  her  they 
called  her  The  Bamboo  Princess,  because  she 
was  found  among  the  bamboo,  and  because 
she  was  more  beautiful  than  any  princess. 

People  heard  of  how  beautiful  she  was,  and 
many  peeped  through  the  hedge  at  the  edge 
of  the  garden  in  hopes  of  seeing  her.  All  who 
saw  her  thought  she  was  so  lovely  that  they 
came  back  for  another  glimpse. 

Among  those  who  came  often  to  the  hedge 
were  five  princes.  Each  one  thought  The 
Bamboo  Princess  the  most  beautiful  woman 
he  had  ever  seen,  and  each  wished  her  for 
his  wife. 


AT 


So  each  of  the  five  wrote  to  the  father  of 
the  princess  asking  to  marry  her.  It  so  hap- 
pened that  all  five  letters  were  brought  to 
the  old  man  at  the  same  time. 

The  old  man  did  not 

know   which   one    to 

choose,  nor  what  to  do- 

He   was 

IMiiS_afraid' 

5^a    too,  that 
if  he  chose 


'one  of  the 
princes, 
I  the  other 
four  would 
be    angry. 
But  the  prin- 
cess   had  a 
:plan.     ' '  Have 
them  all  come 
here,"  she  said, 
"then  we  can  choose  better." 

On  a  certain  day  the  five  princes  came  to 
the  house  of  the  bamboo-cutter.  They  were 
very  glad  to  have  another  chance  to  see  her, 
and  each  one  thought  he  would  be  the  one 
she  would  marry. 


4.8 


The  princess  did  not  wish  to  marry  any 
of  them.  She  wanted  to  stay  with  her  dear 
father  and  mother.  She  wished  to  take  care 
of  them  as  long  as  they  lived.  So  she  gave 
each  one  something  to  do  which  was  im- 
possible. 

The  first  she  asked  to  go  to  India  and  find 
the  great  stone  bowl  of  Buddha.  The  second 
one  was  to  bring  her  a  branch  from  the 
jeweled  trees  that  grew  on  the  floating  moun- 
tain of  Horai. 

The  third  prince  asked  what  he  might  do 
to  show  his  love.  The  princess  said  that  he 
might  bring  her  a  robe  made  from  the  skins 
of  the  fire  rats. 

She  asked  the  fourth  to  bring 

a  jewel  from  the  neck 

of  the  sea  dragon, 

and  the  fifth  prince 

offered  to  bring  her 

the   shell  which  the 

swallows  keep  hidden  in 

their  nests. 

The  princes  hurried  away, 

each  anxious  to  be  the  first 

to  return,  and  so   marry  the 

beautiful   Bamboo   Princess. 


49 


THE  GREAT  STONE  BOWL 

PEOPLE  say  that  far  away  in  India  there 
is  a  stone  bowl  that  belonged  to  the 
great  god  Buddha.  They  also  say  that 
it  gleams  and  sparkles  as  though  set  with  the 
most  beautiful  gems. 

It  is  hidden  deep  in  the  darkness  of  a  great 
temple.  Few  have  ever  seen  it,  but  those 
who  have  can  never  talk  enough  about  its 
beauty. 

The  prince  who  promised  to  go  to  India  in 
search  of  the  bowl  was  a  very  lazy  man.  At 
first  he  really  meant  to  go,  but  the  more  he 
thought  about  it  the  lazier  he  felt. 

Pie  asked  the  sailors  how  long  it  took  to  go 
to  India  and  return.     They  said  it  took  three 


5° 


years.  At  that  he  made  up  his  mind  he  never 
would  go.  The  idea  of  spending  three  years 
looking  for  a  bowl,  an  old  one,  too! 

So  he  went  away  to  another  city  and  stayed 
for  three  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he 
went  into  a  little  temple.  There  he  found  an 
old  stone  bowl  sitting  in  front  of  the  shrine. 
He  took  this  bowl  and  wrapped  it  in  a  cloth 
of  richest  silk.  To  this  he  tied  a  letter  telling 
of  his  long  hard  journey  to  find  the  bowl  for 
her.    Then  he  sent  it  to  the  princess. 

When  the  princess  read  the  letter  she  was 
sorry  that  he  had  suffered  so  much  to  bring 
her  the  bowl.  Then  she  opened  the  silk  wrap- 
pings and  saw  the  bowl  of  common  stone. 
She  now  saw  that  he  had  tried  to  deceive 
her,  and  was  very  angry. 
When  he  came  s1 
would  not  even  see  him, 
but  sent  the  bowl  and 
letter 

The  prince 
very  sad,  but 
knew  that  he 


5i 


deserved  it,  so  he  went  home  to  his  own 
house.  He  kept  the  bowl  to  remind  him  that 
you  get  nothing  good  in  this  world  unless 
you  work  for  it. 


THE  BRANCH  OF  THE  JEWEL  TREE 

THE    prince    who    was   going    for    the 
branch  of  the  jewel  tree  was  very 
cunning  and  very  rich. 
He  did  not  believe  that  there  was  a  float- 
ing  mountain   called    Horai.      He    did    not 
believe  there  were  trees  of  gold  with  jewels 
for  leaves. 

However,   he  said   that   he   was   going  in 
search   of   it.     He   said   good-by  to   all   his 


52 


friends  and  went  down  to  the  seashore. 
There  he  dismissed  all  but  four  of  his  ser- 
vants, for  he  said  he  wished  to  go  quietly. 

It  was  three  years  before  anybody  saw  or 
heard  of  him  again.  Then  he  suddenly 
appeared  before  the  princess,  bearing  a 
wonderful  branch  of  gold  with  blossoms  and 
leaves  of  all  colored  jewels. 

She  asked  the  prince  to  tell  of  his  journey. 
He  made  a  low  bow  and  began  his  story. 

"I  sailed  away  from  here,"  he  said,  ''not 
knowing  where  to  go.  I  let  the  wind  and 
the  waves  carry  me  where  they  wished. 

"We  passed  many  beautiful  cities  and 
strange  countries.  We  saw  the  great  sea 
dragons  lying  on  the  water,  sleeping  as  the 
waves  rocked  them  up  and  down.  We  saw 
the  sea  serpents  playing  in  the  bottom  of  the 
ocean.  We  saw  strange  birds,  with  bodies 
like  animals. 

"Sometimes  we  sailed  on  with  a  gentle 
wind,  and  sometimes  we  floated  with  no 
breeze  to  move  us  for  days  and  weeks. 

"At  times  fierce  storms  arose.  The  waves 
rose  mountain  high.  Wild  winds  whipped 
away  our  sails.  We  were  driven  and  hurled 
to  unknown  lands. 


53 


>M 


& 


The  Prince  tells  (lie  story  of  his  search  for  the  branch  of  the  jewel  tree 


"Again  we  saw  great  rocks  on  which  the 
waves  lashed  themselves  in  showers  of  white 
foam. 

"For  days  and  weeks  we  had  no  food  to 
eat  and  no  water  to  drink.  The  great  green 
waves  lapping  around  us  made  us  long  for 
water  all  the  more,  but  we  could  not  drink 
the  salt  sea  water. 

"At  last,  just  when  I  thought  we  would 
surely  die,  I  saw  a  great  mountain  lifting 
its  dark  head  out  of  the  morning  sea.  We 
hastened  to  it.  It  was  the  floating  mountain 
of  Horai. 

"We  sailed  around  it  several  times  before 
I  could  find  a  place  to  land.  At  last  I  saw 
a  small  cove  and  anchored  there.  When  I 
went  on  shore  there  stood  a  most  beautiful 
girl  with  a  basket  of  food.  She  set  down  the 
basket  and  immediately  disappeared. 

"I  was  nearly  starving,  but  I  did  not  touch 
the  food  until  I  had  broken  off  a  branch  from 
one  of  the  jeweled  golden  trees,  to  bring 
home  to  3Tou.     Then  I  returned  to  my  ship. 

"The  men  were  thankful  for  the  food,  so 
we  feasted  all  day.  In  the  morning,  when 
the  sun  rose,  the  mountain  had  gone. 

' '  A  brisk  wind  was  blowing,  and  in  a  few 


55 


days  we  were  home 

again.     I  came  straight 

from  the  ship  to  bring  you  this." 

Tears  stood  in  the  eyes  of  the  princess  to 
think  of  how  he  had  suffered  to  bring  her 
that  jewel  branch. 

Just  then  three  men  came  asking  for  the 
prince.  "Could  you  pay  us  now?"  they 
asked.  The  prince  started  to  drive  them 
away,  but  the  princess  told  them  to  stay. 

"  What  is  it  you  wish?"  she  asked  them. 

"For  three  years  we  have  been  working 
to  make  this  beautiful  golden  branch.  Now 
that  it  is  finished  we  want  our  pay." 


56 


q£ 


\\  have  you  been  these  three 
house    down     by 


the 


"Where 
years?" 

"In  a  lifts 
seashore." 

"  Has  the  prince 
been  with  you?" 

"Yes." 

The  prince  was  an- 
gry and  ashamed.    He 
knew  that  the  princess 
would  never  believe  in 
him  again,  so  he  went 
far  away   into   another 
country  to  live. 

The  princess  gave  the 
jewel  branch  to  the  workmen  to  pay 
them  for  their  years  of  work,  so  they  went 
away  happy,  and  praising  the  princess  for  her 
kindness. 


57 


^Sags 


m 


THE  FIRE  ROBE 

r  I  ""^HE  third  prince  was  to  bring  the  robe 

1         made   of    the    fur    of    the    fire   rats. 

-*"  He  was  rich  and  very  much  loved. 
He  had  friends  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  He 
had  one  very  dear  friend  who  lived  in  China. 

To  him  the  prince  sent  a  messenger  with 
a  great  bag  full  of  gold,  asking  him  to  find 
the  robe  made  of  the  skins  of  fire  rats. 

When  the  friend  read  the  letter  he  was 
very  sad.  "How  can  I  ever  do  this?"  he 
said.  "Who  ever  heard  of  such  a  thing! 
Still  I  would  do  anything  for  Prince  Abe,  so 
I  will  try." 

He  sent  messengers  all  over  China  seek- 
ing  for    the   wonderful    robe,   but    they  all 


58 


came  back  sadly,  saying  that  they  could  not 
find  it. 

He  sent  to  every  temple,  inquiring  of  the 
priests  if  they  knew  anything  of  this  robe, 
and  where  it  could  be  found,  but  the  reply 
was  always  the  same.  No  one  had  ever 
heard  where  it  was,  although  everyone  had 
heard  that  there  was  such  a  mantle. 

He  sent  for  all  the  merchants  who  went 
from  place  to  place  buying  and  selling. 
None  of  them  knew  of  it. 

At  last  he  said  to  himself,  "This  robe  that 
Prince  Abe  asks  for  is  not  to  be  found. 
There  cannot  be  such  a  thing.  To-morrow 
I  will  return  his  bag  of  gold  to  him,  and 
tell  him  that  I  have  searched  my  best  but 
cannot  find  what  he  wishes." 

The  next  morning  just  as  he  was  about  to 
send  the  messenger  back  to  Japan  he  heard 
a  great  noise  in  the  street  and  looked  out. 

A  great  troupe  of  beggars  was  passing  by. 
"I  will  ask  them  if  they  have  heard  of  this 
fire  robe,"  he  thought.  So  all  the  beggars 
were  brought  in. 

They  were  surprised  at  being  taken  into 
the  house  of  this  great  lord,  and  shown  into 
the  very  room  where  he  was. 


59 


He  told  them  what  he  wanted,  and  asked 
if  in  their  wanderings  they  had  ever  heard 
of  this  fire  robe,  and  knew  where  it  might  be 
found. 

They  all  stared  at  him  in  wonder.  Some 
nearly  laughed  in  his  face.  The  idea  of  it ! 
That  he,  one  of  the  greatest  lords  in  the 
country,  should  ask  them,  common  beggars, 
for  a  fire  robe. 

One  after  another  told  him  that  they  had 
heard  of  it,  but  it  was  only  a  story,  for  there 
was  really  no  such  thing. 

Finally  all  had  gone  but  one  old  man.  He 
limped  slowly  up  to  the  lord  and  knelt  before 
him. 

"My  lord,"  he  said,  "when  I  was  a  child  I 
remember  hearing  my  grandfather  tell  about 
this  fire  robe.  It  was  kept  in  a  temple  upon 
the  top  of  a  certain  mountain,  hundreds  of 
miles  from  here." 

The  lord  was  delighted  at  this,  but  won- 
dered why  his  messengers  had  not  found  this 
temple.  He  sent  for  the  one  who  had  visited 
the  temples  in  that  part  of  the  country. 

This  man  declared  that  there  was  no  tem- 
ple on  that  mountain.  "There  was  in  my 
grandfather's  time,"  said  the  beggar,  "for  he 


60 


tfcl 


had  been  there  and  had  seen  the  beautiful 
fire  robe  with  his  own  eyes." 

The  lord  sent  messengers  to  search  out 
this  mountain  and  find  the  temple  at  its  top. 
The  old  beggar  went  with  them. 

When  they  reached  there  they  found  no 
temple,  only  a  heap  of  stones.  They  searched 
around  a  long  time,  and  finally  found  a  large 
iron  box  buried  under  the  stones. 

They  opened  this  box  and  found  within  it, 
wrapped  in  many  folds  of  rich  silk,  a  strange, 
beautiful  fur  robe.  They  carried  it  home 
joyfully  to  the  lord,  who  was  very  glad  to 
receive  it,  you  may  be  sure. 

He  sent  it  as  quickly  as  possible  to  the 
Prince  Abe,  who  was  no  less  joyful  to 
receive  it  than  his  friend  had  been. 

He  took  it  out  of  the  iron 
box,  unfolded   the  rich   silk 
wrappings,  and  looked  with 
delight   on   the  beautiful 
silvery   fur.      "Ah,    how 
beautiful  the    Bamboo 
Princess   will    look   in 
this !"  he  thought. 

Then  he  remembered 
that  every  time  this 


61 


wonderful  robe  was  put  into  the  fire,  it  came 
out  more  silvery  bright  than  before. 

"It  cannot  be  too  beautiful  for  the  lovely 
Bamboo  Princess,  so  I  will  put  it  in  once 
more,  that  it  may  be  more  beautiful  for  her 
than  it  has  ever  been  for  anyone  else." 

So  he  ordered  a  fire  brought  and  laid  the 
dazzling  silver  robe  over  the  burning  coals. 
Like  a  flash  the  red  flames  leaped  up,  and 
before  he  could  snatch  it  from  the  fire  there 
was  nothing  left  but  silvery  smoke  drifting 
off  on  the  wind,  and  silvery  ashes  dimming 
the  red  of  the  coals. 

Poor  Prince  Abe !  He  was  heartbroken. 
He  could  not  blame  his  faithful  friend,  for 
he  had  done  his  best.  He  was  glad  he  had 
not  taken  it  to  the  princess  before  he  knew  it 
was  the  right  one,  for  then  she  might 
think  he  too  wished  to  deceive  her. 
He  could  only  write  to  her  tell- 
ing her  all,  and  then  go  away 

forever. 

v  The  princess  was  very 

-*C^-.  V     \     sad  when  she  knew  what 

had  happened,   for  she 

saw  that  this  man   was 

true. 


62 


\^fv 


She  sent  him  a  note  asking  him  to  come  to 
her,  but  he  had  already  gone  away,  so  she 
never  saw  nor  heard  of  him  again. 


62 


THE  SHELL  IN  THE  SWALLOWS'  NEST 


THE  prince  who  was  to  find  the  shell 
hid  in  the  swallows'  nest  was  a  very 
proud  and  lordly  man.  When  he 
returned  from  the  visit  to  the  princess  he 
called  his  head  servant  to  him. 

' '  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  shell 
the  swallows  keep  hidden  in  their  nests?"  he 
asked. 

The  man  stared.  "The  shell  in  the  swal- 
lows'nests?     Which  nests?" 

"I  don't  know.  I  want  you  to  find  out  for 
me.     I  want  that  shell." 

"Perhaps  the  gardener  would  know  more 
about  it.  May  I  ask  him?"  So  he  called 
the  gardener. 


64 


"Do  you  know  where  the 
shell  is  which  the  swallows 
keep   hidden   in   their  nest?" 
the  gardener. 

"  No,  I  have  not  had  it.     Did 
it?     I'll  ask  the  water  carrier 
seen  it. "    So  he  called  the  wa 

The  water  carrier  said  he 
ing  about  it,   but   called 
This  man  called  another, 


asked 


you  want 
if  he   has 
ter  carrier, 
knew  noth- 
another  man. 
and  so  on,  until 
all  the  servants 
had  been  called. 
No   one  had 
ever  seen  the 
shell. 
At    last    they 
asked    the    chil- 
dren.   One  little 
boy  thought 
that  he  had 
seen    one 
once.     He 
had    been 
up  in  the 
roof 
of  the 
kitchen  looking 


65 


for    swallows'   eggs,    and 
thought  he  saw  a  shell 
in  one  of  the  nests. 
Perhaps  that  was  the 
\J)  shell  the  prince  wished. 
The  prince  was  de- 
lighted and  ordered 
his   men  to  go   and 
search    the   swallow 
nests  in  the  roof  of 
the  kitchen.    They 
went    and    looked,  ^ 
but  said  they  could  not  reach 
they  were  in  the  very 

%C  roof- 
"But  you  must  find  a  way  to  reach  them," 

roared  the  prince.     "Search  every  nest  and 

do  not  come  back  until  you  have." 

The  men  spent  three  days  trying  to  climb 
up,  but  failed.  At  last  they  found  that  with 
a  rope  and  a  basket  a  man  could  be  drawn  up 
so  that  he  could  look  into  the  nests.  They 
searched  and   searched,  but  found  no  shell. 

At  last  the  prince  grew  impatient  and  went 
down  to  the  kitchen  himself  to  see  what  they 
were  doing. 

"  Have  you  found  the  shell  yet?"  he  asked. 


the  nests,  for 
top    of   the 


66 


"No,  there  is  no  shell  there,"  the  men 
answered. 

Then  the  prince  was  furious  and  insisted 
on  being  pulled  up  himself  to  see.  The  men 
tried  to  persuade  him  not  to  do  it,  but  he 
sprang  into  the  basket  and  commanded  them 
to  pull  him  up  at  once. 

The  men  dared  not  refuse,  so  they  pulled 
him  up.  When  he  reached  the  nests  the 
swallows  began  to  peck  at  him,  for  the}^  did 
not  care  to  have  all  their  eggs  broken  and 
their  nests  torn  to  pieces. 

They  flew  at  him  so  furiously  that  they 
nearly  pecked  his  eyes  out. 

"Help,  help!"  he  screamed.  The  men 
began  to  lower  the  basket.  Just  then  he 
remembered  the  shell  and  thrust  his  hand 
into  a  nest.  There  ^"""^l  w  a  s  s ° m  e  t  h  i  n  g 
hard  there.  He  /^  m  seized  it,  but  lost 
his  balance  and  /  y  came  tumbling 
down.     Instead    (         f/f^Z^     °*   coming 


67 


down  ill  the  basket  he  came  down  thump  on 
the  hot  stove. 

His  men  lifted  him  off  as  soon  as  possible, 
but  he  was  badly  burned  and  bruised.  In  his 
hand  he  held  a  shell,  it  is  true,  but  it  was  a 
bit  of  eggshell,  and  the  egg  was  spattered  all 
over  his  hand  and  face. 

He  decided  that  this  was  all  he  wished  of 
the  shell  from  the  swallows'  nest. 

By  the  time  his  burns  and  bruises  were 
healed  he  had  forgotten  all  about  the  prin- 
cess, and  he  never  climbed  up  to  peep  into 
the  swallows'  nests  again. 


68 


THE  DRAGON  JEWEL 


PRINCE  LOFTY  was  the 
one  who  was  to  go  to 
bring  the  dragon  jewel. 
He  was  a  great  boaster  and 
a  great  coward. 

Of  course  he  intended  to 
get  the  dragon  jewel,  but 
you  may  be  sure  he  did 
not   propose  to  take  the 
trouble  himself. 

He  called  together  a 
great   crowd   of   his  ser- 
vants   and    soldiers  and 
told  them  what  he  wanted. 
He   gave  them  plenty  of 


69 


money  for  their  needs  and  told  them  to  be 
gone  and  not  to  show  themselves  again  until 
they  brought  him  the  dragon  jewel. 

The  men  took  the  money  quickly  enough 
and  went  away,  but  not  to  rind  the  dragon 
jewel.     What  did  they  care  about  it? 

They  did  not  believe  that  there  was  such  a 
thing,  and  if  there  was,  they  were  very  sure 
the  old  dragon  was  very  welcome  to  keep  it. 
They  did  not  care  to  try  taking  it  away  from 
him. 

Meanwhile  Prince  Lofty  was  having  a 
palace  built  for  the  princess.  He  did  not 
doubt  for  one  moment  that  he  would  win 
her,  so  he  would  have  a  house  ready 
to  receive  her.      ^^  A^Pfc  »* 

T  here   h  a  d     Bg  |f  tMUl  fk^Mfr-  * 

never  been  so  ^wamm  tm-nuL.    u     &±      m  ■    -— 
beautiful 
palace 
that  part 


of  the 


70 


country  before.  All  the  wood  was  lacquered, 
carved,  or  inlaid  with  gold  and  precious 
stones.  The  walls  were  hung  with  silks 
painted  by  the  finest  artists. 

Then  he  waited  for  his  men  to  bring  the 
jewel,  but  they  did  not  come.  He  waited  a 
whole  year.  Then  he  was  angry  and  decided 
that  he  would  go  himself. 

He  called  together  a  few  of  his  servants 
who  were  left  and  told  them  to  fit  up  a  boat. 

The  servants  were  frightened  when  they 
knew  what  he  was  going  to  seek.  They 
begged  him  not  to  do  it,  for  fear  that  the 
dragon  would  de- 
stroy them. 

"Cowards  !" 
cried    Prince 
Lofty.    "Cow- 
ards, watch  me. 
Learn  how  to  be 
brave  from  me. 
Bo  you  think  I 
will  be  afraid  of 
any  dragon?" 


7* 


So  they  started,  and  all  went  well  for  two 
or  three  days.  "Don't  you  see  that  the 
dragon  is  afraid  of  me?"  boasted  the  prince. 

That  evening  a  fierce  storm  came  up.  The 
boat  rocked  and  dipped.  The  great  waves 
broke  in  foam  over  the  side  of  the  boat  and 
they  were  all  wet  through.  The  rain  poured 
down  in  torrents.  The  lightning  flashed  and 
the  thunder  growled  and  roared. 

Brave  Prince  Lofty  was  sure  the  boat 
would  upset.  If  they  did  not  drown  he  knew 
that  the  lightning  would  kill  them. 

He  huddled  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat  sea- 
sick and  frightened.  He  begged  the  pilot 
and  the  other  men  to  save  him.  "What  did 
you  ever  bring  me  to  this  place  for?"  he 
cried.  "Did  you  wish  to  kill  me?  Is  this 
all  you  care  for  the  life  of  your  great  prince  ? 
Get  me  out  of  this  at  once  or  I  shall  shoot 
every  one  of  you  with  my  great  bow." 

The  men  could  hardly  keep  from  laughing, 
for  it  was  only  on  his  account  they  had  set 
sail  at  all.  As  for  shooting  them,  they  knew 
he  could  not  lift  an  arrow,  much  less  pull  the 
bow. 

The  pilot  answered  :  "  My  prince,  it  must 
be  the  dragon  who  sends  this  storm.     He  has 


72 


heard  you  say  that  you  will  kill  him  and 
take  the  jewel  from  his  neck.  You  had 
better  promise  him  that  you  will  not  hurt 
him,  and  then  perhaps  he  will  let  us  live." 


Prince  Lofty  was  willing  to  promise  any- 
thing to  have  the  storm  stop,  so  he  vowed 
that  he  would  never  touch  the  dragon,  not 
even  the  least  hair  on  the  tip  of  his  tail. 


73 


After  a  while  the  storm  died  down,  the 
lightning  ceased,  and  the  waves  were  still. 
Prince  Lofty  was  too  sick,  however,  to  know 
what  happened  until  at  last  they  came  to  a 
land.  They  lifted  him  out  of  the  boat  and 
laid  him  under  a  tree. 

When  at  last  he  felt  firm  ground  under 
him  he  wept  aloud,  and  vowed  that  now  he 
had  something  solid  to  rest  on  he  would 
never  leave  it. 

He  was  on  an  island  far  from  Japan,  but 
he  would  not  return  on  a  boat,  not  for  a  hun- 
dred princesses.  So  he  stayed  there  the  rest 
of  his  life. 

The  beautiful  palace  which  he  built  for 
the  princess  had  no  one  to  live  in  it  but  the 
bats  and  owls,  and  sometimes  a  stray  mouse 
or  two. 


74 


THE    SMOKE   OF   FUJI   YAMA 

YEARS  passed  by  and  the  princess  took 
good  care  of  her  old  father  and 
mother.     They  were  very  old   now. 

Now  they  saw  why  she  had  asked  the  five 
princes  to  do  impossible  things.  She  really 
wanted  to  stay  with  her  parents,  and  yet  she 
knew  that  if  she  refused  to  marry  the  princes 
they  might  be  angry  with  her  and  harm  her 
father. 

Each  day  she  grew  more  beautiful  and 
more  kind  and  gentle. 

When  she  was  twenty  years  old,  which  is 
quite  old  for  a  Japanese  maiden,  her  mother 
died.     Then  she  seemed  to  grow  very  sad. 

Whenever   the    full    moon   whitened    the 


75 


earth  with  its  soft  light  she  would  go  away 
by  herself  and  weep. 

One  evening  late  in  summer  she  was  sit- 
ting on  a  balcony  looking  up  at  the  moon, 
and  sobbing  as  though  her  heart  would  break. 

Her  old  father  came  to  her  and  said,  "  My 
daughter,  tell  me  your  trouble.  I  know  that 
you  have  tried  to  keep  it  from  me  lest  I 
should  grieve,  too,  but  it  will  kill  me  to  see 
you  so  sad  if  I  cannot  help  you." 

Then  the  princess  said,  "I  weep,  dear 
father,  because  I  know  that  I  must  soon 
leave  you.  My  home  is  really  in  the  moon. 
I  was  sent  here  to  care  for  you,  but  now  the 
time  comes  when  I  must  go.  I  do  not  wish 
to  leave  yoyj,  but  I  must.  When  the  next 
full  moon  comes  they  will  send  for  me." 

Her  father  was  sad  indeed  to  hear  this,  but 
answered:  f"Do  you  think  that  I  will  let 
anyone  come  and  take  you  away%?  I  shall 
go  to  the  Emperor  himself  and  ask  his  aid." 

" '  It  will  be  of  no  use.  No  one  can  keep  me 
when  the  time  comes,"  she  answered  sadly. 

However,  her  father  went  to  the  Emperor 
and  told  him  the  whole  story.  The  great 
Emperor  was  touched  by  the  love  of  the 
maiden  who  had  chosen  to  stay  with   her 


76 


parents  and  care  for  them.  He  promised  to 
send  a  whole  army  to  guard  the  house  when 
the  time  came". 


The  old  bamboo-cutter 
went  home  very  cheerful; 
but  the  princess  was  sadder  than  ever. 

The  old  moon  faded  away.  A  few  nights 
showed  only  the  blue  of  the  heavens  and  the 
gold  of  the  stars.  Then  a  tiny  silver  thread 
showed  just  after  sunset.  Each  night  it 
widened  and  brightened.  Each  day  the  prin- 
cess grew  sadder  and  sadder. 


77 


The  Emperor  remembered  his  promise, 
and  sent  a  great  army  who  camped  about  the 
house.  Hundreds  of  men  were  placed  on  the 
roof  of  the  house.  Surely  no  one  could  enter 
through  such  a  guard. 

The  first  night  of  the  full  moon  came. 
The  princess  waited  on  her  balcony  for  the 
moon  to  rise. 

Slowly  over  the  tops  of  the  trees  on  the 
mountain  rose  the  great  silver  ball.  Every 
sound  was  hushed. 

The  princess  went  to  her  father.  He  lay  as 
if  asleep.  When  she  came  near  he  opened 
his  eyes.  "  I  see  now  why  you  must  go,"  he 
said.  "  It  is  because  I  am  going,  too.  Thank 
you,  my  daughter,  for  all  the  happiness  you 
have  brought  to  us."  Then  he  closed  his 
eyes  and  she  saw  that  he  was  dead. 

The  moon  rose  higher  and  higher.  A  line 
of  light  like  a  fairy  bridge  reached  from 
heaven  to  earth. 

Drifting  down  it,  like  smoke  before  the 
wind,  came  countless  troops  of  soldiers  in 
shining  armor.  There  was  no  sound,  no 
breath  of  wind,  but  on  they  came. 

The  soldiers  of  the  Emperor  stood  as 
though  turned  to  stone.      The  princess  went 


78 


-  The  white  company  passed  slowly  to  the  top  of  Fuji  Yama  ' 


forward  to  meet  the  leader  of  these  heavenly 
visitors. 

"I  am  ready,"  she  said.  There  was  no 
other  sound.  Silently  he  handed  her  a  tiny 
cup.  As  silently  she  drank  from  it.  It  was 
the  water  of  forgetfulness.  All  her  life  on 
earth  faded  from  her.  Once  more  she  was  a 
moon  maiden  and  would  live  forever. 

The  leader  gently  laid  a  mantle  of  gleam- 
ing snow-white  feathers  over  her  shoulders. 
Her  old  garments  slipped  to  the  earth  and" 
disappeared. 

Rising  life   the    morning    mists    that   lie 
along  the  lake   the   white   company  passed 
slowly   to   the   top   of    Fuji 
ima,  the  sacred  mountain 
EoLJapan. 

On,  jpn,  up   through 
»till  whiteness 


80 


of  the  moonlight,  the  long  line  passed,  until 
once  more  they  reached  the  silver  gates  of 
the  moon  city,  where  all  is  happiness  and 
peace. 

Men  say  that  even  now  a  soft  white  wreath 
of  smoke  curls  up  from  the  sacred  crown  of 
Fuji  Yama,  like  a  floating  bridge  to  that  fair 
city  far  off  in  the  sky. 


8r 


A   GUIDE  TO  PRONUNCIATION 

GENERAL   RULES   FOR   PRONOUNCING    JAPANESE    WORDS 
AND   NAMES 

The  division  of  a  word  into  syllables  is  after  a 
vowel  instead  of  after  a  consonant,  as  in  English. 

Accent  is  very  slight,  as  in  French.  It  consists 
more  in  the  length  of  the  syllable  than  in  the  stress 
laid  upon  it. 

Consonants  are  all  very  much  softer  than  their 
English  equivalents.  This  is  especially  true  with  j, 
which  is  pronounced  more  as  though  one  started  to 
give  the  sound  of  z  but  ended  with  yu. 


a  has  the  sound  of  a  in  father 
c     "      "         "       "  eein  meet 
i      "      "         "       "    1  in  it 
o    "      "         "       "    o  in  stone 
u     "      "         "       "    uin  full 

Both  e  and  o  are  very  much  shorter  than  the  Eng- 
lish e  and  o,  having  about  the  duration  of  e  and  6. 
although  they  have  the  quality  of  e  and  o. 


82 


Abe  (ah'  bay) 
Akandoji  (ah  kan  doj') 
Buddha  (bu'dah) 
Daimios  (di'  myos) 
dango  (dah'  ngo) 
Fuji  Yama 

(foo'  je  yah  mah) 
gozen  (go'  zen) 
Hachiman  (hah  che'  mahn) 
#2  (high) 
Hina  Matsuri 

(he'  nah  mah'  tsti  rey) 
Horai  (ho'  ri) 
Inaba  (ee'  nah  bah) 


ifrta  (ke'  tah) 
kimono  (H  mo'  no) 
Lofty  (15'  fty) 
mochi  (mo'  che) 
nor  obi  (no  ro'  bi) 
0£*  (o'  key) 
.$*?£/  (sah'  ke), 

Japanese  wine 
Shippeitaro  (shpay  tah'  ro) 
Susano  (su'  san  o) 
Taj i  ma  (tah'  je  mah) 
Tokyo  (to'  kyo),  last  three 
letters  all  one  syllable 


83 


A    READING    LIST 

Arnold,    Edwin.     "Seas    and    Lands."     New     York: 
Charles  Scribners  Sons. 
"Japonica."     New   York:     Charles  Scribners  Sons. 

Bacon,    Alice    M.     "Japanese    Girls    and    Women." 
Boston:     Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co. 
"A  Japanese  Interior."    Boston:    Houghton,  Mifflin 
&  Co. 

BALLARD,   Susan.     "Fairy    Tales    from    Far  Japan." 
Chicago,  New  York:     Fleming  H.  Revell  &  Company. 

Bishop,  Isabella  Bird.     "Unbeaten  Tracks  in  Japan." 
New  York:     G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons. 

Bramhall,    Mae   S.     "Wee    Ones    of    Japan."     New 
York:     Harper  &  Brothers. 

Brinkley,  Captain  F.     "Japan."     New   York:     Fords, 

Howard  &  Hulbert. 

Chamberlain,  Basil  Hall.     "Things  Japanese."     New 
York:     Charles  Scribners  Sons. 

Finck,    Henry   T.     "Lotus    Time    in    Japan."     New 

York:     Charles  Scribners  Sons. 

Fraser,    Mrs.    Hugh.     "Letters   from   Japan."     New 
York:      The  Macmillan  Company. 


84 


GEORGE,    Marian    M.      "Little    Journey    to    Japan." 
Chicago:     A.  Flanagan  Company. 

Griffis,  Wm.  E.     "Japan  in  History,  Folk-lore,  and 
Art."     Boston:     Houghton,  Alifflin  &  Co. 

Hartshorne,   Anna    C.    "Japan    and    Her   People." 
Philadelphia:     H.  T.  Coates. 

Hearn,    Lafcadio,     "Kotto."      Boston:     Little,    Brown 

&  Co. 
"Glimpses  of  Unfamiliar  Japan."     Boston:  Little, 

Brown  &  Co. 
"In  Ghostly  Japan."    Boston:    Little,  Brown  &  Co. 
"A  Japanese  Miscellany."    Boston:    Little,  Brozvn 

&  Co. 
"Kokoro."     Boston:  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co. 
"Out  of  the  East."  Boston:  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co. 
"Shadowings."     Boston:  Little,  Brozvn  &  Co. 
"Youma."     New  York:     Harper  &  Brothers. 

Humbert,  Aime.     "Japan  and  Japanese."    New  York: 
D.  Appleton  &  Co. 

La  Farge,  John.     "An  Artist's  Letters  from  Japan." 
New  York:      The  Century  Company. 

Little,  Frances.     "The   Lady    of    the    Decoration." 
New   York:      The  Century  Company. 

Little,  Frances.     "Little  Sister  Snow."     New    York: 
The  Century  Company. 

Lowell,  Percival.     "Occult   Japan."     Boston:  HougJu 
ton,  Mifflin  &  Co. 
"Noto."     Boston:     Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co. 

Menpes,   Mortimer.     "Japan;    A    Record   in    Color." 
New  York:      The  Macmillan  Company. 


8* 


4 


Morse,  E.  S.  "Japanese  Homes."  NewYork:  Harper 
&  Brothers. 

MURRAY,  David.  "Japan."  New  York:  Charles  Scrib- 
ner's  Sons. 

Rand,  Edward  A.  All  Aboard  Series. 

"All  Aboard  for  Sunrise  Lands."     Chicago:  Dono- 
hue  Brothers. 

Scidmore,    Eliza   R.     "Jinrikisha   Days    in    Japan." 

New   York:      The  Century  Company. 

Shigemi,     S.     "A  Japanese  Boy."    New  York:   Henry 

Holt  &  Co. 
"Japanese  Fairy  Tales."     Tokyo. 

Starr,  Frederick.  "Japanese  Proverbs  and  Pictures." 
Tokyo:     H.  Hattori. 

Stoddard,  John  Lawson.  Lectures:  "Glimpses  of 
the  World."  New  York:  E.  S.  Werner  Publish- 
ing Co. 

Taylor,  Bayard.  "Japan  in  Our  Day."  New  York: 
G.  P.  Putnam  s  Sons. 

Taylor,  Charles  M.,  Jr.  "Vacation  Days  in  Hawaii 
and  Japan."     Philadelphia:    G.  W.  Jacobs  &  Co. 

Van  Bergen,  R.  "Story  of  Japan."  New  York: 
American  Book  Company. 


S^S^i 


SUGGESTIONS    TO    TEACHERS 

HOME  LIFE  OF  THE   JAPANESE 

THERE  are  two  excellent  books  telling  the  intimate, 
charming  details  of  Japanese  home  life  that  I  wish 
might  be  in  every  school  library,  and  read  by  all 
teachers.  They  are  .4  Japanese  Boy,  by  Shiukichi  Shigemi 
and  A  Japanese  Interior  by  Alice  M.  Bacon. 

The  first,  written  by  a  native  of  Japan,  tells  of  his  early 
childhood,  his  school,  the  good  times,  the  family  life,  all 
the  holidays,  as  they  seemed  to  him,  with  the  sentiments 
and  traditions  of  a  Japanese. 

The  second  book,  A  Japanese  Interior,  is  of  special 
interest  as  the  work  of  Miss  Bacon,  who  taught  for  many 
years  in  the  Peeresses  School,  close  by  the  door  of  the 
Imperial  Palace  itself,  in  Tokyo.  This  school  is  especially 
dear  to  the  heart  of  the  beautiful  and  gracious  Empress,  and 
is  only  for  daughters  of  the  nobility,  descendants  of  the 
ancient  and  powerful  Daimios  of  Japan. 

DRAMATIZATION 

Ever}7  story  read  by  a  child  should  be  as  real  to  him  as 
bread  and  butter,  and  the  healthy  instinct  of  a  normal  child 
should  be  to  make  the  story,  as  well  as  the  bread  and 
butter,  a  part  of  himself  at  once.  His  first  impulse  is  to  live 
the  story  he  hears,  and  this  impulse  calls  for  the  work  in 


S7 


dramatization,  which  has  assumed  so  important  a  place  in 
the  program  of  the  primary  grades. 

In  dramatizing,  the  child's  vocabulary  is  increased  and 
his  habits  of  speech  improved.  He  gains  in  self-possession 
and  the  ability  to  express  himself  easily  and  well ;  he  forgets 
himself  in  his  expression  of  a  thought.  Pupils  should  plan 
the  action  and  "stage  settings"  before  they  begin,  and  have 
clearly  in  mind  all  the  "points,"  or  the  principal  events  in 
order,  so  that  they  may  carry  the  story  through,  without 
interruption.  All  phrasing  peculiar  to  a  story  should  be 
retained  as  far  as  possible. 

The  retelling  of  a  story  is  also  helpful.  Compared  with 
dramatization,  however,  it  is  of  secondary  importance. 
If  the  program  is  crowded,  with  little  time  for  dramatiza- 
tion, let  the  children  play,  during  the  rest  period,  the  story 
they  have  read  earlier  in  the  day. 


LANGUAGE 

Later  the  children  are  ready  to  retell  the  story  on  paper. 
Give  them  new  words  as  they  are  needed  and  use  the  same 
words  for  the  spelling  lesson  of  the  day.  It  is  easier  for 
the  children  to  learn  the  correct  use  of  capitals,  periods, 
and  paragraphs  when  beginning  to  write  than  to  learn  to 


IP! 


88 


use  them  after  they  have  formed  the  habit  of  careless 
writing.  Encourage  the  children  to  seek  for  the  best  way 
of  expressing  a  thought.  Reading  the  written  story  to 
the  other  children  for  their  suggestions  and  criticisms  may 
be  made  helpful. 


ART  WORK 

The  art  work  should  always  be  founded  on  the  general 
work  of  the  room.  Stories  offer  a  great  fund  of  material, 
and  expressing  his  idea  of  a  story  in  some  form  adds  to 
the  child's  interest  as  well  as  to  his  understanding  of  what 
he  reads.  These  stories  are  particularly  rich  in  action,  and 
therefore  well  adapted  for  a  great  variety  of  art  work. 

First  in  importance  comes  the  making  of  models,  either 
with  clay,  cardboard,  or  wood,  of  the  things  about  which 
they  read. 

Color  appeals  to  children,  and  for  that  reason  they  should 
be  allowed  to  use  colors.  However,  painting  alone  soon 
leads  to  careless,  indefinite  work — hence  it  should  be 
combined  with  drawing  and  paper  cutting,  both  of  which 
help  to  emphasize  form. 

Too  little  is  usually  done  with  designing  in  the  primary 
grades.     This  is  one  of  the  earliest  forms  of  art  invented 


89 


by  man  in  the  childhood  of  the  race.  It  will  be  found  that 
children  who  are  not  strong  in  general  art  work  often 
have  much  ability  in  design. 

With  the  exception  of  "Lord  Bag  of  Rice"  and  "Peach 
Darling"  the  art  work  for  the  stories  should  be  grouped 
about  one  theme — the  construction  of  a  Japanese  home. 
If  a  sand  table  is  available  have  a  forest,  lake,  and  mountain 
in  the  distance,  as  well  as  the  house  and  garden.  The 
materials  needed  will  be  heavy  construction  paper  and 
cardboard,  and  light-weight  paper  with  water  colors  or 
colored  crayons  for  decorations. 

Construct  house  with  paper  sides,  low  tables,  screens, 
lanterns,  shrine,  vase  for  flowers,  banners,  and  flags. 
Endeavor  to  have  the  designs  for  these  show  as  much  of  the 
Japanese  spirit  as  possible. 

The  First  Rabbits.  Page  13. 

If  possible,  bring  some  pet  rabbits  to  school,  and  let 
the  children  sketch  them  from  life ;  otherwise,  from  memory. 
Illustrate  the  story,  using  white  chalk  on  gray  paper  or 
the  blackboard. 

Model  the  rabbits  in  clay,  watching  the  live  rabbits, 
if  possible.  Remember  that  here  you  have  the  third 
dimension,  solid  form,  so  aim  to  make  it  represent  action. 

Dramatize,  showing  the  sky  children  talking  to  the  fairy 
mother,  and  the  sky  children  and  the  fairy  mother  looking 
at  the  snowballs  falling  down  to  earth.  Show  the  rabbits 
living  on  earth,  and  hopping  and  running  about. 

Play  a  game  of  snowball,  using  balls  of  crumpled  paper. 
If  sides  are  chosen,  this  will  prove  a  delightful  rest  exercise, 
and  result  in  happy,  relaxed  children,  ready  to  take  up 
regular  school  work  with  zest. 


go 


Lord  Bag  of  Rice.  Page  16. 

Paint  a  picture  of  the  lake  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain; 
draw  a  picture  of  each  of  the  five  gifts. 

Dramatize  the  story,  showing  three  acts:  the  soldier, 
the  snake,  and  the  dwarf;  the  soldier  killing  the  centipede; 
the  soldier  at  home  with  his  rifts. 


Peach  Darling.  Page  22. 

Model  the  peach;  draw  the  three  friends;  paint  the  ship 
setting  sail  for  the  island. 

Illustrate,  showing  the  part  taken  by  the  animals  in 
the  story.  Pictures  of  the  animals  will  help  the  children's 
imagination.  The  best  mediums  to  use  are  charcoal  and 
manila  paper. 

Dramatize  the  first  part  of  the  story,  showing  how  Peach 
Darling  was  found;  dramatize  the  second  part  of  the  story, 
showing  Peach  Darling's  adventures. 

The  Old  Man  with  a  Wart.  Page  31. 

Draw  the  forest  in  fair  weather  and  the  same  forest  in  a 
storm. 

Paint  the  fires  of  the  storm  spirits. 


91 


UAl 


For  a  game,  or  rest  exercise,  imitate  the  Japanese  dance 
of  the  storm  spirits.  If  desired,  this  may  be  developed 
into  an  exercise  in  rhythm. 

The  Eighty-One  Brothers.  Page  37. 

Draw  the  boy  carrying  the  bundles;  draw  the  crocodile 
and  the  hare.  Make  a  poster  of  the  crocodile  bridge  from 
Oki  to  Cape  Keta. 

Dramatize  the  scene  between  the  eighty-first  brother 
and  the  hare,  and  the  one  between  the  princess,  the  eighty- 
first  brother,   and   the   hare. 

The  Bamboo  Cutter's  Daughter.  Page  46. 

Paint  the  fairy  in  the  bamboo  stalk.  Tell  in  pictures 
what  each  prince  did.  Draw  the  smoke  of  Fuji  Yama, 
using  gray  paper  and  white  crayon,  or  the  blackboard. 

Dramatize  each  story,  and  show  how  each  one  of  the  five 
princes  failed  to  accomplish  the  task  given  him. 

COLLECTIONS 

Encourage  the  children  to  make  a  collection  of  pictures 
of  Japan  and  the  Japanese,  and  of  newspaper  and  magazine 
articles  regarding  these  subjects.  Japanese  lanterns,  of 
many  quaint  and  interesting  designs,  are  easily  obtained, 
as  are  also  fans,  hair  ornaments,  parasols,  kites,  and  the 
fascinating  water  spreading  figures.  A  Japanese  flag  will 
add  to  the  children's  interest  in  this  far-away  land,  as  will 
the  beautiful  prints,  odd  images  and  idols,  lacquered  boxes, 
specimens  of  pottery,  and  incense.  It  is  surprising  how 
many  of  these  things  can  be  collected,  and  what  an  addition 
it  is  to  information  and  what  a  stimulus  to  enthusiasm. 
The  greatest  benefit,  however,  is  in  encouraging  the  children 


92 


to  go  after  the  information  they  want  instead  of  waiting 
for  it  to  be  brought  to  them  ready  made  and  predigested. 
If  the  schoolroom  is  to  be  decorated,  very  realistic  Jap- 
anese cherry  blossoms  may  be  made  by  using  the  bare 
branches  of  ordinary  trees  and  shrubs  on  which  the  children 
have  pasted  pink  tissue  paper.  The  best  effect  is  gained 
from  the  use  of  three  shades  of  pink.  The  paper  is  cut 
into  one-inch,  one-and-one-half  inch,  and  two-inch  circles. 
Taking  one  circle  of  each  size,  and  arranging  them  so  that 
the  darkest  and  smallest  circle  is  on  top,  cut  halfway  across, 
put  a  small  quantity  of  paste  in  the  center,  then  close  around 
a  branch,  keeping  the  smallest  circle  with  the  paste  on  it 
next  to  the  branch.  Enough  paste  oozes  out  to  fasten  the 
larger  circles  also,  and  the  paper  is  made  more  secure  by 
crushing  the  center  of  the  circles  close  to  the  branch.  The 
outer  edges  should  be  left  frilled  out  like  petals.  These 
bunches,  arranged  along  the  twigs,  give  the  appearance  of 
blossoms.  Lanterns,  parasols,  banners,  and  screens  may 
also  be  made  and  used  for  decorations. 


SPECIAL  JAPANESE  DAYS 

The  Feast  of  the  New  Year.  This  is  celebrated  on  the 
first,  second,  and  third  of  January.  All  of  the  children 
have  new  kimonos  and  new  kites.  A  special  delicacy  is 
the  mochi  cakes,  made  of  rice.  The  rice  is  steamed,  beaten 
to  a  paste  in  a  wooden  bowl,  then  formed  into  little  cakes. 
Most  families  have  a  tree,  almost  covered  with  tiny  balls. 


93 


For  three  days  the  boys  make  merry  flying  kites,  and  the 
girls  devote  the  time  to  a  Japanese  game  similar  to  battle- 
dore and  shuttlecock. 

Hina  Matsuri.  March  3  is  the  Little  Feast  of  the  Dolls. 
For  one  day  the  boys  are  neglected  while  the  girls  receive 
all  of  the  attention.  Poor  indeed  is  the  family  that  cannot 
afford  hina,  or  dolls  to  represent  the  Mikado  and  Empress, 
with  some  of  their  court.  These  dolls  are  not  played  with 
in  the  American  manner,  but  are  respectfully  admired  and 
enjoyed,  then  put  away  to  be  kept  carefully  from  year  to 
year  and  from  generation  to  generation. 

Hachiman.  May  5  is  the  Feast  of  Flags.  Now  the  boy 
comes  into  his  own.  Huge  paper  fish  {nor obi)  on  bamboo 
poles  are  flying  before  each  house,  one  for  each  son.  The 
fish  represented  is  always  the  carp,  because  he  is  supposed 
to  be  swift  and  sure  in  surmounting  all  difficulties.  Each 
boy  receives  a  set  of  effigies  of  heroes  and  warriors,  and 
a  toy  set  of  all  the  implements  of  war. 

The  Feast  of  Cherry  Blossoms.  This  is  celebrated  in 
April.  Families  go  to  view  the  cherry  groves,  making 
it  a  holiday.  They  wander  among  the  clouds  of  blossoming 
trees,  and  often  hang  upon  a  favorite  tree  a  poem  written 
in  its  praise. 

The  Wistaria  Viewing  is  in  June,  and  the  Chrysanthemum 
Viewing  comes  in  November. 

A    DAY    IN    JAPAN 

The  children  will  enjoy  a  "Day  in  Japan."  Let  them 
find  out  all  they  can  about  Japanese  schools,  and  then  for 
half  an  hour  let  them  play  they  are  in  Japan.  Let  each  tell 
what  he  saw  on  the  way  to  school,  the  houses,  the  people, 
the  stores,  etc. 


94 


A  Japanese  luncheon,  with  a  lesson  on  cooking  rice  and 
making  tea,  has  been  tried  with  success.  Let  the  children 
eat  the  rice  with  chopsticks  they  have  made  out  of  wood. 

MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS 

Making  the  Bow.  All  is  done  slowly,  evenly,  and  as 
rhythmically  as  possible.  Feet  together,  down  on  knees, 
let  body  sit  back  on  feet,  then  bend  forward,  placing  hands 
on  floor  in  front.  (Hands  are  outspread,  palms  down,  with 
thumb  and  forefinger  of  one  hand  touching  thumb  and 
forefinger  of  other  hand.)  Slowly  bend  head  forward 
upon  outspread  hands.  Keep  this  position  for  only  a  brief 
interval,  raise  head,  hands  to  sides,  on  knees,  sit  back  on 
toes,  up  to  standing  position. 


Japanese  Dances.  If  the  children  wish  to  represent  the 
Japanese  dances  let  them  remember  that  the  feet  remain 
practically  quiet,  that  the  hands  move  together,  not  apart, 
and  that  the  dance  is  not  founded  on  musical  rhythm  but 
is  an  imitation  of  something  in  nature  or  an  interpretation 
of  some  feeling  or  experience. 

Children  could  hardly  follow  the  intricacies  of  a  genuine 
Japanese  dance,  many  of  which  require  years  to  master, 
but  some  simple  imitation,  in  the  Japanese  spirit,  would 
afford  excellent  stimulus  to  the  imagination,  and  fine 
training  in  poise  and  self-restraint,  as  well  as  the  delight 
physical  and  mental  expression  always  gives  the  child. 


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95 


In  "The  Old  Man  with  a  Wart"  the  children  can  represent 
the  trees  during  a  storm.  In  "The  Smoke  of  Fuji  Yama" 
they  can  give  more  rein  to  their  interpretative  imagination. 
Let  them  represent  the  moonlight,  the  silence,  the  fairy 
bridge  from  heaven  to  earth,  the  filing  down  of  countless 
soldiers,  the  fading  away  of  the  earth-life,  and  the  drifting 
upwards  of  the  white  company,  like  the  smoke  that  rises 
from  the  sacred  Fuji  Yama. 


. 


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